About Me

Hi there! I'm Jasmin, and I love coffee, chocolate, and all things pink. I'm an analyst by day and a (semi-consistent) blogger by night. Follow along as I share my love for coffee, traveling, shopping, and life!

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Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Hello Wednesday! Today, I am linking up with Shay for "What's Up Wednesday," which consists of answering the following questions.

1. What We're Eating This Week
My friend and I went to a fabulous French restaurant in the area that's authentically "French country" style cuisine, meaning a lot of items on their menu include meats typically found in the countryside (e.g. duck, bison, etc). In addition, their menu is written on a huge chalk board that they bring to your table. Did I mention the drinks were divine? Here's my fruity tropical drink below. I mentioned to the waiter that I felt like I should be somewhere tropical while sipping on my drink.

2. What I'm Reminiscing About
Studying abroad in Marseille, France, during college. I was watching the Euro Cup this month and some games were played in Marseille at the Velodrome stadium, which I would pass daily when taking the metro into the city. Happy memories. :)

3. What I'm Loving
My new custom Nike ID shoes. These were an early birthday gift I received based on my custom specifications. You can design your own here.

4. What We've Been Up To
I went to a Conan O'Brien show taping at the Warner Bros studio this month. I will do a full blog post on the experience soon, but it was super fun. And what's better is that it's free! Although we couldn't take pictures while the show was taping, here are some shots I took before the show started.

5. What I'm Dreading
Fire season. It's officially fire season here in Los Angeles. We have a huge fire that firefighters are currently battling that's only 25% contained, has scorched 37,473 acres, and has destroyed 18 homes. Please pray for all the firefighters and service crews who risk their lives daily to keep us safe.

6. What I'm Working On
Planning various appointments for 2017 (tax appointment, my physical etc.) What can I say, I'm a planner, and I always plan these sometime around June/July of the previous year. And I love using my Erin Condren 18-month life planner to remember everything. Here's the design I went with this year (it's my 3rd planner from Erin Condren, and it never disappoints). :)

7. What I'm Excited About
My birthday in August. :) There's no shame in celebrating it ALL month, right?!

8. What I'm Watching/Reading
There's not much on in the summer, but I am watching The Bachelorette (sometimes you just need some mindless TV to escape), and will watch Bachelor in Paradise when it starts next month.

9. What I'm Listening To
Literally, right now, I'm listening to "Mack the Knife" by Louis Armstrong as I type this on Tuesday evening. I love listening to Pandora while I blog. :)

10. What I'm Wearing
My sweats! So chic, I know. ;) I just got back from the gym.

11. What I'm Doing This Weekend
Going to one of my favorite pizzerias in Los Angeles. Bonus: the restaurant is also participating in Dine L.A.! More details on Dine L.A. can be found in my previous post here.

12. What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month
Traveling to San Francisco! I will be there for a week for work.

13. What Else is New
Kate Spade is having a sale up to 75% off, only through today! No code is necessary...just shop away! I'm eyeballing this and this (these would make traveling so much more fun).

And last, I can't wait to wear this. I love Fall and the cooler weather because it's all about layering cute pieces.

2. This liquid foundation. I can't say enough good things about it. It lasts all day, looks natural (you can't even tell you're wearing foundation), doesn't rub off on clothing, and controls my oily skin. With other foundations I had used in the past, I would have to blot my oily skin by the end of the day. With this one, I don't have to, even during the hot summer months. And the best part of it is the price (it's only $33).

3. I love my Fitbit Flex and Tory Burch Fitbit bracelet (I blogged about both ina posthere). For those who held off on purchasing the Tory Burch Fitbit bracelet in the past, the good news is that it's now on sale!

4. For my southern California peeps, it's Dine L.A. RestaurantWeek in Los Angeles! It runs from July 18-31, 2016, including weekends. During this time, participating restaurants offer special menus for lunch or dinner at a discounted price. Lunch ranges from $15-$25 per person (2+ courses), and dinner ranges from $29-$95+ per person (3+ courses). Dine L.A. is a great way to try fabulous restaurantsat a discounted price. For a full list of participating restaurants, click here.

5. Secret Life of Pets! I had been looking forward to this movie since I first saw the trailer earlier this year, and it was everything I had hoped it would be. I love pets and I love NYC, so win-win! Kevin Hart is the voice of the bunny and was hilarious. Go see it! You won't be disappointed. It's an awesome movie for both kids and adults.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Happy Wednesday! I am linking up with Shay for her monthly stranded series. Today, the question is, what three famous people would we take with us if we were stranded on a desert island? Well, here are my three below.

1. Conan O'Brien. This guy crack me up. So funny! I love his sense of humor and quirkiness. I attended a live taping of his show last week (I'll blog about that next week) and he was even funnier in person. So great. #teamcoco

2. Henry Cavill. I mean, look at him. I'd bring him along just so I can stare at something beautiful the whole time I'm stranded until I'm rescued. Can you say perfect bone structure? His British accent doesn't hurt either. ;)

3. Larry King or Oprah. I couldn't decide between these two! Can I take them both? ;) Either one would be amazing-- I would love to sit down with either and hear their stories about all the people they have interviewed over the years. And I'm sure they would have some great life advice too.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

The Getty Villa is located in Malibu, California, on Pacific Coast Highway. It was modeled after Villa dei Papiri, which was a Roman country-house in Herculaneum. It was destroyed in AD 79 when Mount Vesuvius erupted, and to this day, remains mostly un-excavated. Getty wanted his Malibu villa to give guests a sense of what living in a villa during Roman times was truly like. Many of the plants and vegetation on the property today are those found in ancient Rome, which further adds to the ambiance.

In all, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the villa. The grounds are tranquil and relaxing, and there are over 1,200 works of art available to view. You can easily spend an entire day touring the gardens and the antiquities. There's also a gift shop and cafe on the grounds. Admission to the villa is free, but parking is $15 per car and must be reserved prior to arriving. More information on planning a visit can be found here.

Things to Do:
1. Getty Guides: Self-guided tour with ipods & headphones that can be checked out upon arrival. I did this and loved it-- it was so easy. You simply input the number of the work of art you are viewing on the ipod and it will give you an audio summary of what you are viewing.
2. Exhibitions: A list of the current ones can be found here.
3. Gardens: There are four gardens to explore.
4. Tours: Tours are free and there are many to choose from (e.g. Garden tour, Architecture tour, Collections Highlights, etc). A list of current tours can be found here.

Below are some of the pictures I took of the gardens, galleries, works of art, and structures. Enjoy!

Friday, July 8, 2016

Happy Friday! I've been on vacation this week so I haven't blogged, but I will blog about my lovely adventures next week and the following week. Today, I'm linking up with Andrea for my favorites of the week.

1. This mask. My mom was visiting this past week and we enjoyed getting pampered and using it. You notice a difference after one use (smoother skin, brighter complexion, and reduced blemishes). My mom never raves about any products, but even she loved this one.

2. For my socal peeps, if you're ever in the Burbank area, you have to dine at Olive & Thyme. It's a gourmet cafe and market located close to Warner Brothers. They have delicious sandwiches and healthy salads, not to mention amazing baked goods. Bonus: They serve Intelligensia coffee, which is one of my favorites.

4. Homemade s'mores. It's tradition for me to make them every 4th of July, but I make them with the Hershey's dark chocolate and I pop them in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes. So easy!

5. Wimbledon! I am a huge tennis fan so I have been enjoying watching all the matches this week. Wimbledon is my second favorite grand slam (my favorite is the U.S. Open-- I even attended a few years ago, which was a bucket list item of mine). I'm hoping Federer wins the men's singles title and I'm rooting for the Williams' sisters to win the doubles title (and hoping Serena wins the women's singles title too).

Monday, July 4, 2016

Friday, July 1, 2016

Happy Friday and Happy 4th of July weekend! I love this weekend for all the festivities and all the red, white and blue colors around town.

Here are my favorites for the week.

1. Kate Spade is having a sale on sale items! It makes it the perfect time to stock up on Christmas gifts. Now through Tuesday, July 5th, use code SUNSHINE to get an additional 30% off sale items. I'm eyeballing this and this. Super cute!

2. Have you guys heard of Sarah Anderson? She is behind the comic "Sarah's Scribbles" and creates the funniest cartoons. I seriously laugh out loud when I read these because they're so true! Here are some of my favorites that I'm sure many of you ladies out there (and gentlemen too) can relate to.

3. Starbucks' Pink Drink! Have you guys seen this all over social media? The drink looks like Pepto Bismol due to the color, but is actually Strawberry flavored. It's basically the Strawberry Acai Refresher (which comes with real strawberries in it) mixed with coconut milk, thus giving the drink a creamy, milky appearance. I might just have to try it this weekend. Apparently, this drink is on the "secret" menu but has gained popularity due to social media.

4. This cookbook that I saw at a gift shop last week is now on my Amazon wishlist. It's a blend of two things I love: vegetables (even though I'm not vegetarian) and Middle Eastern flavors (being that I'm Lebanese, after all). The running joke in the family is that you can't be a vegetarian and be Middle Eastern since we love our meat too much. ;) It's like that one scene from the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, where the aunt tells the boyfriend, "You're vegetarian? It's ok, I make you lamb." LOL.

5. Peonies! It's the last few bunches so I am enjoying seeing them bloom in my house. I'm always so amazed at how tiny they are when I first buy them, and then how big they get over the next few days. So pretty!